Bathhouse Secrets
by lockawayheart
Summary: Chihiro becomes Haku's apprentice, but what happens when Yubaba does everything in her power to make her change her mind? Will Chihiro and Haku's love blossom, or will something else come in between?
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone! I read this awesome fic for Spirited Away and it inspired me to write this one! It was fun to write, and suprizingly it didn't take as long as i thought it would. **

**So anyways, here is the fic! I hope you all like it!**

**Disclaimer:**** I don't own this story or its characters. They belong to Mr. Miyazaki and studio Ghibli. **

**I just own the story. Teehee. lucky me!**

  
Secrets Torn

A Spirited Away fan fiction by

Lockawayheart

"None of them are my parents," said Chihiro, confused, but still nervous about her decision on the group of pigs in front of her. **POOF!** The pigs in front of her morphed back into the colorful bathhouse workers. Her friends cheered and called out congratulations to her from the many, spacious rooftops of the bathhouse. It seemed like everyone who worked at the old, painted palace came to see her trial. But weither it was to see her off, or to see her fail was another story. The contract in Yubaba's hand turned instantly to ashes. The pieces of singed paper and the burnt dust floated away in the sudden wind that had come up. She felt the warm breeze caress her cheek, and whisper a quiet poem in her ear. She felt a warm hand graze her left one. Looking over, she saw Haku's bright, shiny olive green eyes looking into hers.

"You did it, Chihiro!" He said, giving her a hug. In her ear, however, he secretly whispered, "I always knew you could do it." This message made Chihiro's cheeks glow pink as she tore herself, half unwillingly, half embarrassed, from Haku's warm embrace.

"Oh no!" she exclaimed, her mind now on the problem in front of her. "Mom! Dad! Where are they? Are the okay? Oh no, oh no…not good…" she looked around, frantic, with a sudden panic.

"Relax," said Haku gently, taking her hand supportively in his, and leading her over to the wooden, memory-filled bridge, and to the steps leading down to the would-be- flooded, flowered and grassy meadow. He dropped her hand and looked deeply at her. His hands played with something around his neck. Pulling it out, he revealed a tiny replica of pure white dragon, with a magnificent teal mane, and small, scaly feet. It hung from a glowing, light, silver chain.

"This is so you can always reach me…no matter what world you are in," said Haku, and enveloped her fingers tenderly around it. It was barely the size of a quarter when she held it in her hand. Though it was small in size, she could feel his great power emanating from it and into her, racing throughout her body.

"I'll miss you so much…" said Chihiro, fighting back tears. Haku pulled her into a tender embrace, letting the tears flow out, letting her cry on his shoulder.

"You'll always be in my heart," he whispered into her ear. When her crying came to nothing more than two wet eyes, and a sniffley nose, he told her gently, "Go now, your parents will be wondering where you are. And remember, you can't look back until you've passed back out of the train tunnel…goodbye…Chihiro…" As she walked, she felt his last words surrounding her, walking her safely back to her parents. She said nothing to their scoldings, and looked out her window. Her new house was…different.

It was butter yellow, with white trim. An old Victorian-style porch wrapped around it, and a turret stuck out from the front right corner. A koi pond surrounded the middle of the yard, giving a slight Japanese feel to the grand Western-inspired house. When her parents unlocked the front door with a shiny, golden key, she walked inside, and was instantly drawn to the inside of the turret. 'What is this feeling? It feels…familiar…' thought Chihiro halfheartedly. Something about it called to her, something surreal, like the feeling she got when she entered the bathhouse for the first time. The room was rather large. A magnificent closet occupied one wall, while two window seats accompanied two wall length windows. A quaint, wooden bed with a matching nightstand was the only pieces of furniture in the room. Curiosity taunted her to open the nightstand drawer. She obeyed. She opened the first drawer and found nothing. The second drawer held the same. Inside the third drawer, however, she found a small figure of a river spirit dragon. The paint on it was old and peeling, but Chihiro could see traces of white and a small patch of teal upon its head. She instantly found the dragon around her neck. Looking at it, she found they could be twins.

"So you've chosen this as your room? Huh, Chihiro sweetie?" asked her mother from the doorway. Chihiro whipped around, startled. Her mother stood in the doorway, and set down a cardboard box marked ' Chihiro's things' onto the floor. She wiped away the droplets of sweat that were forming on her forehead. Chihiro, recovering herself quickly replied,

"Yes. I like this room." Chihiro's mother walked in and looked out one of the large windows.

"What a gorgeous view! It makes me jealous!" her mother said playfully. Chihiro giggled and closed her drawer with a snap. "What was in there?" her mother asked suspiciously.

"N-nothing!" stammered Chihiro. "Just looking around!" Her mother laughed.

"Okay then sweetie. I'll go get your boxes and bring them up here then." Chihiro nodded. Her mother left to go retrieve the boxes. Haku… she thought depressed.

XxX Spirited Away XxX

"Let's eat!" her father yelled out enthusiastically.

"Thank you for this meal," said Chihiro and her mother in unison. They dug into their dinner: instant ramen and iced green tea in a water bottle, all atop a cardboard box. Delicious. As her father slurped down the last noodle in one container, and startled chowing down a second, he noticed Chihiro wasn't eating. She just sat, picking her food in a depressed mood again.

"What's the matter, Chi sweetie?" her mother inquired.

"I'm just… not very hungry," she finished lamely.

"I see, nervous about school, huh?" Chihiro nodded. "Don't be! You'll do fine. But it is a big school. I can understand. If you don't feel like eating now, you can go to your room," Her mother said soothingly. Chihiro ran and retreated to her room. She took the little, weathered dragon from it's hiding spot. Tears fell down her face.

"Haku…" she whispered. She fell asleep with her hand carefully curled around it.

XxX Spirited Away XxX

School the next two months was…interesting. She finally had met a friend, Kissimmee, but it wasn't enough to clear away all the gloom, the longing to be able to talk to Lin about anything, and the shadows of love missing creeping into the light from the corners of her brain. Lovely. It wasn't that she couldn't find anyone to like her. She was just waiting until she saw Haku again. So she could be his. Exactly five boys had asked her out since her moving. She turned them all down, saying 'I'm not really looking for a boyfriend now…' but she was really saying 'get lost and stay away!' Today was different though. Today the boy was nominated by Kissimmee. And today he wouldn't take no as an answer.

"Why!" he demanded.

"I just don't want one," Chihiro replied.

"But I'm the best-looking guy in school! Girls line up to be able to go out with me!"

"Then go out with one of them," Chihiro said dismissively.

"But I want you! And if I can't have you, then no one can!" He forced himself on her, his lips forcing a violent kiss on her. It hurt her lips, causing them to bruise. His kiss was so fierce that it caused her to gasp for air. She started to shake with fear. She saw a glint of metal catch the sunlight. 'A knife!' she thought desperately. She didn't know what to do anymore. Her mind was becoming increasingly blank. Suddenly she found her voice.

"NO!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. The sound seemed to startle him, and his kiss faltered. She took this slip-up as time to push his face away. Then she made her escape. She ran faster than she had ever run before, adrenaline pumping furiously within her, and something else, a substance she couldn't identify. It gave her strength. Tears were running down her face. 'Thank goodness I got away when he was only kissing me!' she said thought to herself. 'But how could Kissimmee do this to me! I thought she was my friend! I thought I could trust her!' she thought furiously.

She ran into her room without a word to anyone, and locked the door quickly before diving onto her bed. She curled into a feline-like ball and bawled. She stayed in that position all day. Ignoring her homework. Ignoring her dinner. Ignoring her parents. She finally stopped crying when the stars began to pop out and wink at her through the glass. Somehow she was drawn to them. She slowly crawled out of the warm, safe, secure ball, and stumbled over to her window seat. She turned her puffy eyed, tear-streaked face to the stars. A silver-white star shot across the sky. She decided to wish on it. ' Please. Please let me be near Haku again! Forever. Let me be near Haku. Near my true friends. I want to escape this school. These people. These parents. Just escape from it all to be with him. And with Lin.'

This output seemed to take a lot out of her. The little dragon necklace clutched in her hand seemed to calm her. She found herself slowly but surely nodding off. The stars carried off her wish. The necklace started to glow…


	2. Comming Back

Chapter 2

Coming Back

**Hello all of my fellow readers! Here's chappie two! YAY! clap clap I hope this doesn't seem too short to anyone...it was long in my notebook. A special thanks to HakuDragon01 ( I hope this is the right one...my conputer deleted it...GOMEN NASAI!) for the wonderful review you gave me! It really made my day! And a special thanks also to dark chocolate princess for your great review too! And now without further adieu, here is chappie 2!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Spirited Away, its characters, plot line, anything. It is the property of Mr. Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli. I just own this adorable story! Come on...who's jelous? **

The wind rustled Chihiro's hair, rousing her from her sleep. ' Did I leave the window open?' She felt herself being carried by something. ' And since when did my window seat get covered in snake skin?' The scales were cool and smooth to her touch. 'Wait… it can't be…' Memories of déjà vu flooded her mind. **_She was flying on Haku. "You did it Chihiro! I remember now! I am the spirit of the Kohaku River!" Haku yelled to her over the rush of wind around them._**

"Haku!" she yelled out, her eyes bursting open. It was his luminous ivory scales that she felt under her hands. It was his wild, untamed teal mane tickling her face as it blew in the wind. And it was him who was taking her back to the bathhouse. "Haku! It is you! But how…" She fingered the necklace absentmindedly. It answered her question in her mind. She saw herself sitting on the window seat, wishing on a star. The necklace began to glow… "Is that why you gave this to me?" she asked pointedly, looking at the back of his head. He looked back at her. She took this to mean 'yes'. "Oh Haku…thank you!"

She borrowed down and nuzzled her face into his mane, and wrapped her arms tighter around his belly. She saw red and gold lights, the lights of the Spirit World, pass by underneath. She let go of Haku with one hand and pretended to grab a small lantern, like she used to do when she was younger. She could see through her hand.

"Aaah!" she screamed. "Oh no! Not again! My hand…my hand! What do I do Haku!" Her panic seemed to speed up the process of disappearing. She fell through Haku, and hurtled to the ground. Her limbs were limp, and she looked like a rag doll, as she fell unconscious towards the ever closer ground. Haku found something within give him a surge of energy. He flew faster and faster, gathering speed to rescue her…

"-hiro?" A voice called to her from somewhere far away. "Chihiro?" Her eyes fluttered and her hand twitched. She felt a warm hand brush against her cheek. She gave a soft moan of pain, and her eyes fluttered open. She saw a hazy face in front of her.

"Haku?" She asked.

"Chihiro!" He pulled her into his arms. "Thank goodness you are okay. I thought I was going to lose you…"

"Haku…you saved me…thank you," she said, whispering the last part into his ear. His embrace tightened around her. She began to slump slightly, her body succumbing to weakness. Haku turned her around, and supported her head with his shoulder. He spooned an amber-colored liquid into her mouth. She found traces of radishes as it touched her tongue.

"I put a spell on it. It will give you back your strength," Haku explained to her, spooning more broth slowly into her mouth. She nodded and swallowed. She finished the broth and then fell asleep again, Haku still holding her. He heard Lin open the conjoining doors behind him. The creak of the wooden doors seemed to excite the soot balls. She took her basket and threw enchanted lemon candies out to them.

"She's sleeping again…Haku?" Lin asked concerned. Haku nodded. "Is she going to be okay?"

"Of course she will be. Look who's taking care of her," interjected Kamaji. Lin nodded.

"Kamaji, don't you have anything that would speed up her recovery?"

"I'm afraid not. She has to find it within herself," the boiler man replied. Haku muttered a spell.

"Htgnerts reh revocer reh pleh, em nihtiw dniw dna revir eht fo rewop eht yb… She should be alright now," concluded Haku. " I can feel her strength." Lin smiled.

"Good. I'm glad everything is going to be okay." Haku set her down gently next to him and pulled the covers up around her.

"Hey Kamaji!" scolded Lin. " Didn't I tell you to leave out your dishes when you're done eating out of them? The kitchen won't let me carry up anymore food until I give back your dishes!" Lin held out her wicker basked expectantly with an annoyed expression on her face. Kamaji, who had just been faced with three bath tokens at once, pointed to a pile of disgusting dishes in the corner. Lin looked like she was about to throw up. The sight of flies buzzing around them didn't help matters much either.

"Ya know you could at least eat all the food out of them before you tossed them," said Lin, nervously edging towards the dishes. " After all I do…" said Lin, sighing, and started loading the dishes into her basket. Haku squatted down beside her.

"I'll help you bring down some of these dishes. I have to go get some more broth for her anyway, so it's no trouble," Haku told her, taking up a collection of cups and saucers.

Walking down one of the elegantly lighted corridors, the silence was becoming awkward. As they entered a downward elevator, Lin decided to break the silence.

"I just hope the little dope is okay…" said Lin.

"As do I…I don't know what I would do without her…" Haku said, his eyes focusing on the concrete wall.

"Ah ha…I see how it is…" said Lin eyeing him suspiciously. Haku looked at her.

"How what is?"

" You like her, don'tcha?"

Haku blushed and focused on the wall again.

"Was it that obvious?" he mumbled.

"Pretty much," said Lin, matter of factly. The elevator stopped moving and the doors opened to the bustling, busy kitchen, preparing dinner for the bathhouse at the moment. Lin shoved the basket of soiled dishes to a frog-human in front of a large tub, filled to the brim with snow white soap suds, and white china dishes. The frog-human grumbled, but allowed her to pour them into the tub. Haku also placed his dishes into the tub. The head chef noticed this and called out,

" Master Haku! What a pleasant surprise! Are you perhaps here for a cup of tea for Yubaba?" Haku smiled.

"No, I'm not here for Yubaba. I need some more of that broth you made me earlier today, please." The chef motioned to one of the busy bodies next to him. He quickly poured a brownish liquid into a large, deep pot, and lit a red-gold flame beneath it. When it reached boiling point, it was transferred into a large soup bowl, and put on a tray with two smaller bowls, two spoons, and a pitcher of water. The chef presented this to Haku.

"As you requested, Master Haku. I hope it is to your liking." He bowed as Haku took the tray. Haku nodded his head. He wadded back through the crowds to find Lin, a tray with Kamaji's dinner in her hands. Lin smiled.

"Let's go back then!"

The bathhouse was dark and quiet when Chihiro awoke again. Stars dazzled in the sky outside, as Haku's eyes did in the dim light of the boiler room. She sat up slowly, and turned to face Haku.

"Good morning, I mean…er…good evening?" Haku greeted. Chihiro burst out laughing. Seeing her, Haku did the same. "So does this mean you are feeling better?" Haku asked serious, his voice concerned.

"Much better, thank you!" said Chihiro cheerily. Haku smiled warmly.

"I'm glad."

" I'm sorry to be such a bother to you though," said Chihiro, hanging her head.

"Don't be," said Haku, lifting her head up to face him. "It was no trouble, really. Here, have some soup," said Haku, offering her a bowl.

"Only if you'll eat it with me," Chihiro said teasingly. Haku smiled.

"Of course," he spooned a bowl for himself.

"Haku?" Chihiro said, in between slurping her soup. " Do you think Yubaba will give me a job here again?"

"Sure," he replied, looking at her. "Who wouldn't want such and adorable hard worker?" Chihiro blushed deeply. They sat in the semi darkness, finishing their soup together, and wondering what was to become of tomorrow.


	3. Please Will You Give Me My Job!

**Hey everyone! Sorry this chappie took so long! I've been extremely busy with school and all, and I had writer's block. So anyhow, special thanks to my reviewers:**

**dragongirl9000**

**Tales-Coyote-Carnivore**

**for their wonderful reviews! So enough of my babbling, and on to chappie 3! Please enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Spirited Away. Any of it. Cause if I did...they would be cleaning the house...not me. **

** Chapter 3 **

**"Please will you give me my job back!"**

Chihiro awoke and saw rays of warming sunlight filter through the filthy window. It was inviting her outside. She looked over at Kamaji, fully asleep, as was the rest of the bathhouse during the day. Flinging back the lime green and navy checkerboard print comforter, she rose and stretched. She still wasn't use to the sights of the bathhouse yet. Grinning, she thought to herself, 'This is going to be an interesting day…' She walked lightly over to the edge of the wooden floor.

"My shoes. Again?" she asked. On cue, the sootballs carried out her yellow sneakers, her crisp white socks folded neatly inside them. She ignored the socks and jammed her feet into the shoes. "Arigato," she told the sootballs, bowing. The sootballs tried to imitate her, causing her to giggle, as she forced open the creaky, rusty, metal door of the boiler room. The morning breeze sifted through her hair. It had grown down to her chest, since the last time the wind did that. She climbed the stairs, still apprehensive, but making it to the top safely. She crawled to the secret passageway, and to the magnificent garden of the spirit bathhouse. She wandered. Her feet brought her to an indigo hydrangea bush. She bent down to smell the sweet smell enrapturing her.

A tight hand clamped over her mouth, stifling her scream as she felt a warm body press against her.

"Gotcha," a voice said in her ear. Her eyes widened in fear and she prepared to fight her attacker. They spun her around and-

"Haku!?" Chihiro half screamed, stopping mid punch. Haku grinned like the Cheshire cat.

"Surprise. And good morning!" he replied.

"Pfft. That was some good morning…" Haku's eyes became downcast.

"I made you angry?"

Chihiro whipped around huffily. Haku hung his head. Chihiro giggled and threw her arms around his neck.

"Surprise" she said playfully. Haku blushed at her closeness, and his own foolishness. He lightly, hesitantly wrapped his arms around her waist. ' How come she's not blushing? Not fair…' he muttered in his mind.

Chihiro broke apart smiling. She turned her face up towards the sun, letting the warmth and power swarm over her face. The light highlighted her creamy skin, her rosy cheeks; her soft lips…Haku mentally kicked himself. ' Don't look at her lips. Don't look at her lips. Don't look at her li-' Chihiro forced him out of his mental recitation and grabbed his hand and dragged him over to a large grassy hill. She flung herself to the ground, and took Haku down with her. She rolled down the hill like a little three-year-old would do: without a care in the world. Haku found himself smiling whenever she did. The lied on the grass, looking at the clouds, puffy and white, racing each other in the brilliant blue sky.

"It's so nice out today…" commented Chihiro.

"Mmhmm," Haku agreed. Chihiro shivered even though the air was warm. Haku became alarmed. "Chihiro! What's wrong? Do you have a fever or something? Are you getting sick again?" He quickly put a hand up to her forehead and tested the temperature. She didn't seem to be any warmer than usual.

"Haku, I'm fine, really!" reassured Chihiro. "I'm just…worried…and a little scared…" she blushed slightly.

"Scared? Of what?"

"Yubaba. And not being able to get my job back." Said Chihiro quietly.

"Here's my advice to you. Don't be scared. I'm always here to protect you. And I'm sure Yubaba will give you you're job back." Haku said gently.

"You do?" She asked, her eyes widening. "How?"

Haku's eyes twinkled. "You'll see…" They left it at that.

Chihiro got up from the grass and brushed herself off. Haku did the same.

"Well then," Chihiro said brightly. "What should we do now?"

"I have an idea," said Haku mysteriously. He led her over to a petite, but extravagant, pond. Peering over to the surface, Chihiro gasped. The crystal clear water was filled with rainbows. Tiny fish of every species and ranging in colors from neon pink to lavender, maroon to macaroni-and-cheese, lemon yellow to lime green, and everything in between.

"Haku!" Chihiro exclaimed. "This is amazing!"

"I thought you might like it," said Haku, giving her a mysterious smile, his eyes glinting. They stayed by the pool, frolicking and enjoying each other's company until dusk. Haku looked up at the darkening sky, mildly alarmed.

"It's getting dark. We should head back to the bathhouse. Yubaba should be awake now. Or getting there at least…" Haku gave a nervous laugh. Chihiro just swallowed hard and tried not to look too nervous. But, in fact, she was ready to puke. Wonderful.

The elevator doors slid apart with a rolling clack. Chihiro stepped out into the dim, foreboding grandiose hallway of Yubaba's private quarters. It scared her as much as it did last time. Slowly, she made her way to the large, double gold doors with the enchanted knocker. Chihiro hesitantly leaned in and whispered,

"May I please see Yubaba?"

The knocker replied without any pretense of keeping its scratchy, growly voice down.

"You again! What do you want with Yubaba human?" the knocker demanded.

Chihiro started shaking ever so slightly.

"I would like my job back," she said meekly. The knocker was silent for a moment, then replied, but not in its usual rough voice.

"Come. In." it said icily. Chihiro, caught off guard at this switch of character said,

"Huh?"

"I said come in!"

And once again, she felt herself being pushed, dragged, tugged, and prodded along until she wound up in Yubaba's room. ' Again with the theatrics' Chihiro thought to herself. She rubbed the bump forming on the back of her head.

"So. You've come back. Why? What could you possibly want to do here?" Yubaba inquired.

"I want my job back," Chihiro demanded. "Please," she added in an attempt to sound more polite.

"No." said Yubaba simply, and started to count the jewels in an ornate gold box on her cluttered desk. Chihiro stomped over and slammed her hands down on Yubaba's desk. 'I can't believe I'm doing this! I don't even want to be doing this! It's like I'm a puppet…" Chihiro thought wildly.

"Give me my job back Yubaba!" she demanded, surprised at her own forwardness.

"Why should I you filthy human? I cant have you screwing up the order in my bathhouse again! You cost me a fortune last time!"

"I promise I won't screw anything up again!" Chihiro pleaded. "Let me be someone's assistant!"

"Now that you mention it…" said Yubaba, a suspicious gleam in her large, evil, eyes. " Haku was telling me how he was looking for an assistant…"Chihiro tried not to show her adoration for Haku. "I'll put you there. If you differ from you master, complain, or don't finish any of your jobs, I'll turn you into a soot gremlin. Understand?" Yubaba said, staring hard at Chihiro.

"Similar to last time," Chihiro debated with herself under her breath. "Okay, fine. I accept your deal, Yubaba." Said Chihiro confidently. Yubaba pulled a piece of parchment and a black feather quill from the piles consuming her desk. Chihiro read the agreement and found Yubaba's every word, and her own, emblazoned on it with metallic green ink. She signed her name. Yubaba floated the parchment back to her outstretched hand. She grinned.

" So you've decided just to give your name away as Sen," Yubaba asked teasingly. Now it was Chihiro's time to smile.

"No. Not exactly. You see, if I remember correctly, you control people by taking away parts of their name, or in this case adding them, for the spell to work, and the name to be changed and owned. So for your lovely little spell to work, you must turn my name into Chihiro." She grinned at her own cleverness. Yubaba growled, and Chihiro could have sworn she felt an ounce of electricity surge through the air.

"Very well! You will be addressed as Chihiro!" said Yubaba, infuriated. She turned and pulled down firmly on an off white thickly braided rope hanging from the ceiling. Haku appeared almost instantly.

"You rang, Mistress Yubaba?" Haku said, his voice saturated with politeness. Chihiro tried hard to stifle a giggle. The act Haku was putting on was pretty amusing.

"Yes. Take this girl. She has just signed a contract with me as your apprentice." Haku looked appraisingly at Chihiro.

"What's her name?" he questioned Yubaba, turning back to face her.

"Chihiro," Yubaba spat out.

"Shall I take her to her quarters now, Mistress?" Haku inquired. Yubaba waved a banishing hand.

"Leave," she commanded. Haku bowed deeply and Chihiro thought it would be best to do the same. Haku turned and walked to the golden door, which flung open. He waited for Chihiro to follow him out.

It wasn't until they were out of the elevator and walking down a corridor Chihiro had never seen before, that Haku broke the stony silence.

"You did it, Chi! I told you you could do it!" Haku praised.

"I know! Something just came over me! It was so exhilarating I didn't know what it was!" Chihiro explained. Haku's expression became suddenly sheepish and guilty. Chihiro's became that Haku-what-did-you-do-to-me one.

"Well, yeah. That was me. I put a marionette spell on you. So I basically prompted you to say and act like that." Haku explained.

"So I can't even get a job by myself! She only said yes because you were asking for me!" she threw up her hands in the air to signal she gave up all hopes of becoming successful in the bathhouse, and starting her job off right. 'why did this day have to be such an emotional roller coaster? Scared. Happy. Scared. Happy. And now I'm irritated. Really irritated.' Thought Chihiro, not following Haku anymore.

"If one does not experience emotion, one does experience life…" recited Haku, sliding a golden key into a lock in the door on his left. "Or so they say. Here, come take a look…" He was at the end of the hallway, gesturing for her to go in the room.

Yubaba peered ominously into a crystal ball, perched precariously on a stack of old leather bound books.

"Good, so she's accepted the post…and him. Like I expected. Now to change all of this…" In the crystal ball Chihiro turned and walked into the room…


End file.
